The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By The Drum, Editorial

June 21, 2016 | 4 min read

A host of leading industry experts gathered to discuss the launch of The Drum’s Cannes Lions special edition guest edited by IBM's artificial intelligence (AI) technology Watson, which used machine learning to channel the creativity of David Ogilvy, arguably the godfather of advertising.

The panel session, held in association with Quantcast, saw assembled marketers listen in on the thoughts of Amber Case, a cyborg anthropologist who examines the interaction between humans and technology; Oliver Cox, solutions architect, IBM Watson ecosystem; Konrad Feldman, CEO of Quantcast; David Shing, digital prophet for AOL; plus Todd Krugmann, president of O&M Japan.

The role of AI in the realms of creative thinking in the advertising industry is one that has been hotly debated in recent years, and featured strongly throughout many sessions at this year’s Cannes Lions programme.

Kicking off the panel discussion was Stephen Lepitak, editor of The Drum, who probed the panel on some of the negativity towards AI among many in the advertising industry, particularly those that would assert that it will lead to the loss of jobs, particularly among those in the creative sector.

Panelist Amber Case shared her opinion that the term AI has a lot of negativity to it – in fact she said she prefers the expression “naturally intelligent systems” – adding that such technologies should be used as an aid to creativity, not a threat to it. A view that was shared by all on stage.

IBM’s Cox added that the latest issue of The Drum bore testament to this potential union of data-led machine learning, and the creative process. “Tech savvy magazine editors can use AI… but I’d rather speak to people and machines,” he said.

IBM Panel

By channeling the creative insights of David Ogilvy (made possible by using Watson to analyse his multiple pieces of copy, etc) the technology was able to “bottle the best” of the advertising great; it is then up to humans to then interpret and action such learnings.

Quantcast’s Feldman said: “AI is going to assist marketing, as it will in many other professions.” He went on to add: “AI will have a more tremendous impact on the world in the next 20-to-30 years, than the internet has already had.”

AOL’s Shing also voiced his belief that this could also be entwined with the rise of another technology in the advertising business (ie programmatic media buying technologies) to great effect.

“I would love to see AI wrapped around the metadata of programmatic; if we can have AI add scale to that creativity, then we can start to think about better forms of communication,” he said, voicing his opinion that this could complete a virtuous circle throughout the entire industry. “Let’s not be fearful about this shit!” added Shing in his own inimitable way.

Meanwhile, IBM’s Cox further explained how such an offering could aid brands’ communication strategies: “Watson would not create a personality - it will help you create the personality that’s best for your brand [with elements of human moderation].”

Giving his opinion as to how accurate IBM’s Watson was at channeling the spirit of Ogilvy, O&M’s Krugmann said: “What you showed is a reinterpretation of David; Ogilvy [the modern day agency] would have loved it… AI will make our brands better.”

Watson is forecasting which UK and US agencies will win awards at the Outdoor Lions. Can a machine be a good judge of creativity? Check out the predictions.

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